The following information is provided to assist the reader in understanding technologies disclosed below and the environment in which such technologies may typically be used. The terms used herein are not intended to be limited to any particular narrow interpretation unless clearly stated otherwise in this document. References set forth herein may facilitate understanding of the technologies or the background thereof. The disclosure of all references cited herein are incorporated by reference.
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the depassivation of a lithium-thionyl battery, to a device for carrying out the method, and to a battery device.
Description of Related Art
In the known, non-rechargeable lithium-thionyl batteries, reactions according to the following scheme occur:
Positive reaction:2 SOCl2+4 Li++4 e−→4 LiCl+S+SO2 
Negative reaction:Li→Li++e−
Overall reaction:2 SOCl2+4 Li→4 LiCl+S+SO2 
The lithium-thionyl batteries have a very low self discharge rate, so that they are ready for operation even after along storage time. The reason for the low self discharge rate, is the formation of a passivation layer with LiCl crystals (see right side of the overall reaction) on the lithium anode.
If a load is applied to the lithium-thionyl battery, a relatively strong drop of the voltage occurs, which is disadvantageous. This voltage drop is also referred to as Transient Minimum Voltage (TMV). In the process, this voltage drop can become sufficiently large so that the voltage drops at least temporarily below the respective cut-off voltage.